Argentina was hit especially hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and has struggled to recover ever since, though its Vaca Muerte shale patch offers some glimpse of economic hope
of 16 billion barrels of shale oil and 308 billion cubic feet of shale gas making it the world’s second-largest shale gas deposit. Since the pandemic oil and natural gas production in Argentina, because of drilling in the Vaca Muerta, keeps climbing to record highs. The rising volume of activity in the hydrocarbon rich geological formation is supported by not only higher oil and natural gas prices but also tax and regulatory reforms implemented by Argentina’s national government.
There are signs of solid production growth for the Vaca Muerta. Drilling activity is rising, with the Baker Hughesindicating there were 53 active rigs at the end of August 2022, or two higher than a month earlier, seven more than the same period during 2021, and four-times greater than August 2020. Fracking activity is growing at a notable pace, and data from the Ministry of Economy shows a marked increase in the volume of wells completed.
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Pulmonary Dysfunction after Pediatric COVID-19Background Long COVID occurs in lower frequency in children and adolescents than in adults. Morphologic and free-breathing phase-resolved functional low-field MRI may identify persistent pulmonary manifestations after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Purpose To characterize both morphologic and functional changes of lung parenchyma on low-field MRI in children and adolescents with post COVID-19 compared with healthy controls. Materials and Methods Between August and December 2021, a cross-sectional, prospective clinical trial using low-field MRI was performed in children and adolescents from a single academic medical center. The primary outcome was the frequency of morphologic changes on MRI. Secondary outcomes included MRI-derived functional proton ventilation and perfusion parameters. Clinical symptoms, the duration from positive RT-PCR test and serological parameters were compared with imaging results. Nonparametric tests for pairwise and corrected tests for groupwise comparisons were applied to assess differences in healthy controls, recovered participants and with long COVID. Results A total of 54 participants post COVID-19 infection (mean age, 11 years ±3 [SD], 56 males) and 9 healthy controls (mean age, 10 years ±3 [SD], 70 males) were included: 29 (54%) in the COVID-19 group had recovered from infection and 25 (46%) were classified as having long COVID on the day of enrollment. Morphologic abnormality was identified in one recovered participant. Both ventilated and perfused lung parenchyma (V/Q match) was reduced from 81±6.1% in healthy controls to 62±19% (P=.006) in the recovered group and 60±20% (P=.003) in the long COVID group. V/Q match was lower in post COVID patients with infection less than 180 days (63±20%, P=.03), 180 to 360 days (63±18%, P=0.03) and 360 days ago (41±12%, P|.001) as compared with the never-infected healthy controls (81±6.1%). Conclusion Low-field MRI showed persistent pulmonary dysfunction in both children and adolescents recovered from COVID-
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Proteomics of fibrin amyloid microclots in long COVID/post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) shows many entrapped pro-inflammatory molecules that may also contribute to a failed fibrinolytic system - Cardiovascular DiabetologyBackground Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), also now known as long COVID, has become a major global health and economic burden. Previously, we provided evidence that there is a significant insoluble fibrin amyloid microclot load in the circulation of individuals with long COVID, and that these microclots entrap a substantial number of inflammatory molecules, including those that might prevent clot breakdown. Scientifically, the most challenging aspect of this debilitating condition is that traditional pathology tests such as a serum CRP (C-reactive protein) may not show any significant abnormal inflammatory markers, albeit these tests measure only the soluble inflammatory molecules. Elevated, or abnormal soluble biomarkers such as IL-6, D-Dimer or fibrinogen indicate an increased risk for thrombosis or a host immune response in COVID-19. The absence of biomarkers in standard pathology tests, result in a significant amount of confusion for patients and clinicians, as patients are extremely sick or even bed-ridden but with no regular identifiable reason for their disease. Biomarkers that are currently available cannot detect the molecules present in the microclots we identified and are therefore unable to confirm their presence or the mechanisms that drive their formation. Methods Here we analysed the protein content of double-digested microclots of 99 long COVID patients and 29 healthy controls. The patients suffering from long COVID reported their symptoms through a questionnaire completed by themselves or their attending physician. Results Our long COVID cohort’s symptoms were found to be in line with global findings, where the most prevalent symptoms were constant fatigue (74%,) cognitive impairment (71%) and depression and anxiety (30%). Our most noteworthy findings were a reduced level of plasma Kallikrein compared to our controls, an increased level of platelet factor 4 (PF4) von Willebrand factor (VWF), and a marginally increased level of α-2 antiplasmi
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No adverse affect on sperm quality 6 to 14 months post BNT162b2 COVID vaccineA study published in the journal Gamete Biology demonstrates that the mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech is not detrimental to sperm health over a long period post-vaccination.
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Long COVID patients show signs of autoimmune disease a year after infectionBlood samples drawn from patients with long COVID who are still suffering from fatigue and shortness of breath after a year show signs of autoimmune disease in those patients, according to a study published today in the European Respiratory Journal.
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